Making the Transition

The transition period of your weight management program is the time to shift from using meal replacements to eating mostly foods from the grocery store. The length of time for your transition depends on what your OPTIFAST® program provider decides is best for you. How to go about including more conventional food and calories into your diet will be tailored to your needs. So, be sure to get the specifics about transition from your OPTIFAST® program provider. Anytime that you have questions about transition and how it works, ask your OPTIFAST® program provider.

Transitioning to the maintenance phase of the OPTIFAST® program may bring up a range of emotions and this is completely normal. You may be excited about including a greater variety of foods in your diet and looking forward to planning new meals that help you maintain your weight loss. Transition can be an opportunity for you to create a new way of thinking about food and how food fits into your new lifestyle.

In addition to excitement about transition, some people feel anxious and concerned about reintroducing food. You have likely had great success with the OPTIFAST® products over the past weeks. Maybe you enjoyed the convenience of meal replacements and the limited decision making about what to eat. For these reasons, some people have misgivings about introducing new foods back into their diets.

Common thoughts are:

• “What if I lose control and start eating too much as I did in the past?”

• “What if I start regaining weight when I go back to adding in other foods?”

• “What if I go back to my old ways of overeating?

These concerns are normal and it is okay to feel a little nervous. Remind yourself that you have the behavioral skills that you need to be successful with managing your weight. You have learned many skills and strategies and you won’t forget what you learned. You will continue to use these skills throughout your transition period. In addition, you have your OPTIFAST® program provider to support you through this part of your weight loss journey.

Tips for a Smooth Transition:

• Consider delaying the inclusion of foods that you crave or foods that trigger you to overeat.

• Consider taking away one OPTIFAST® product each week while adding back 200 to 250 calories of other foods.

• Consider keeping two to three OPTIFAST® products in your daily meal plan.

• Plan your meals in advance using your calorie goal for that meal or snack, instead of eating and counting your calories after the fact.

• Plan when you will eat during the day and your calorie allotment for each time you eat.

• Continue to use a daily food diary to track your food and beverage intake.

• Talk to your OPTIFAST® program provider about your concerns or questions regarding transitioning.

OPTIFAST® Program materials may not be reproduced in any form ®without the prior permission of Nestlé Health Care Nutrition, Inc.

All trademarks are owned by Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., Vevey, Switzerland. ©2017 Nestlé. All rights reserved. OPTI-10105-1017